New Line Wins Bidding War for 'Train to Busan' Remake From James Wan, Gary Dauberman

Araya Diaz/Getty Images; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

James Wan (left), Gary Dauberman

Wan will produce via his production banner Atomic Monster along with Dauberman, his collaborator on the 'Annabelle' movies as well as the upcoming DC horror show 'Swamp Thing.' Dauberman is also on board to write the 'Train' adaptation.

New Line has won a ticket for a zombie train ride with James Wan and Gary Dauberman.

The studio came out on top of a bidding war for the English-language remake rights for Train to Busan, a Korean zombie-horror movie, and is in the process of finalizing deals.

Wan will produce via his production banner Atomic Monster along with Dauberman, his collaborator on the Annabelle movies as well as the upcoming DC horror show Swamp Thing. Dauberman is also on board to write the Train adaptation.

French film company Gaumont is also producing, as is Atomic Monster's president of production Michael Clear.

The original 2016 movie is set during a zombie virus outbreak in South Korea and focuses on the struggle of a group of passengers on a train bound for Busan from Seoul. The story’s core is the relationship between a divorced workaholic father and his daughter.

The pic, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, was a box-office and critical smash when it was released.

The project hit town over a week ago, generating immediate interest from companies ranging from Universal and Paramount to Studio 8 and Netflix. By Monday, the bidding was down to New Line and Lionsgate, with New Line, the home of many of Wan and Dauberman's flicks, coming out on top Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wan, who is prepping his Aquaman movie for a December release, has a long history with horror and is behind the billion-dollar cinematic empire based on the Conjuring movies. The latest installment, The Nun, just crossed the $100 million domestic mark.

In addition to working with Wan, Dauberman worked on New Line’s 2017’s horror hit It and penned the sequel,It: Chapter Two. He is set to begin shooting his directorial debut, the third Annabelle installment, next month.

Wan is repped by Paradigm, Stacey Testro International and David Fox at Myman Greenspan; Dauberman is with ICM Partners, Industry Entertainment and Felker Toczek.